Garrett Oliver is the man; the philosophy reflected in his book, The Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food, speaks to my holistic sensibilities and makes my mouth water for fine brews and food prepared in the old school tradition — from scratch with fresh ingredients and no preservatives or other modern food crap. But Garrett Oliver doesn't just author rousing books; he also brews exceptional beer. Since becoming the brewmaster in 1994, he has propelled Brooklyn Brewery to high status among the top 40 breweries in the nation.
I love Brooklyn's year-round lineup; the seasonal Oktoberfest Marzen is on par with the authenticity of Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest; the buttery, peppery Local 1 is the definition of Belgian strong light ale. The Brewmaster's Reserves and Limited Releases — Black OPS, Blast Imperial IPA, Flemish Gold, Manchester Star, and Savoir Faire — are all crazy delicious. So are the innovative collaborations with Schneider Brewery — the Brooklyner- Schneider Hopfen- Weiss and the Schneider-Brooklyner Hopfen-Weiss.
A new addition to the Brooklyn lineup — Local 2 — is a dark ale crafted from German pilsner malt, English chocolate malt, Belgian dark sugar, New York state raw wildflower honey, citrus peel, Belgian yeast, and hopped with Perle, Aurora, and East Kent Golding hops. After brewing, a secondary fermentation takes place inside the corked, 25 ounce bottle.
This article appears in Mar 18-24, 2009.